Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Correction 6/7/2010; I got this discovery all wrong. The upholstery aluminum trim mentioned below isn't what was used on the original 1966 Batboat's dashboard.

I recently got a scanner, scanned in this photo I found on ebay, zoomed into it, and see it is an entirely different aluminum. Some of which is still on my boat and measures 3/8 inch. I'm keeping this post up because of other information in it. lol

I just interpolated the width of the 1966 Batboat dashboard trim against a one inch vinyl pleat. It appears to be the same width as in mine; 5/16th inch.

My vessel was built three years after the TV show boat and, like many other details in the '66 Batboat, that trim was one of Glastron's stock parts.

The above is the glove compartment piece from my 1969 V-145/Batboat. I bet its the same stuff. If so, it will not be hard to find at all. The same aluminum trim was used by Glastron in many of their boats in the 1960s and its the stuff people sometimes throw out when fixing their boats up.

Here is how it was upholstered to most of the vinyl in my boat. Looks nice and neat from the front...

... but the back is different.

The back of the channel in the aluminum was cut to make it easier to bend into curves and then stapled through the vinyl to the plywood.

The channel is 3/8 inch and ply 1/4 inch.

The metal is rounded at the end and the upholstery foam under the vinyl looks about 1/4 inch. Not too slim and not too puffy. That is how I am going to upholster my craft, just like Glastron did in '69.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Researching how the original 1966 Batboat was built is sometimes kind of tough. It was one of the least used Bat-vehicles in the show (once in the movie and twice breifly on the show. The show appearances were filmed during the movie) and there are only a scant 2 or 4 original photos showing detail.

Sorry for the bad screen capture! One of the rare shots of the interior.

One of the last items that had left me stumped were the seats. There are maybe two or three photos that show them clearly but from behind. The BATMAN movie dvd shows them from above but for a split second.

I posted a quirey with images at the Classic Glastron Owners Association forum and one of the historians, 69 JETFLITE, came up with the answer the next day.

It is possible they are the seats used in Glastron's Jetflite models. I looked through my 1967 Glastron brochure and sure enough, there they are!

The Classic Glastron Owners Association site has a scan of the 1966 brochure showing the top of the seats and they are better dead ringers for those in the Batboat. A 1966 brochure is on the way here from eBay so I can take a better look.

The post '66 Jetflite chairs seem to have the same turned up/ pointed appearance on the top but are narrower in the middle pleated area. The above photo shows a reupolstered pair.

The 1966 Batboat had both tops and bottoms pointed, however. If I can get a pattern off a top, the bottoms can be made the same way. Just need to find a junker '66 seat. That will have to wait for next year, delivery of the '66 brochure and more photos to verify. :)

Glastron forum member FergusonPooleInc says the 1967 seats were blue metallic, the 1968 red metallic, and the 1969 were gold metallic.

I worked on the new dashboard today. This modified Glastron V-145 craft needs a new dash because it and the seats need to be moved back one foot to be in the correct proportion to the 1966 original Batboat.

When Glastron built their Batboat for the BATMAN movie they did the same thing to a V-174 Super Sport.

The "lap" of the seats should be about dead center of the length of the craft.

1/2 inch plywood makes up the dash of my boat with about 1/4 inch of fiberglass on top for strength. I'll be using 3/4 inch marine grade ply and a couple layers of 1.5 oz chopped strand mat fiberglass.

The Original Dashboard

On top of that will be some kind of satin polished aluminum or stainless steel, as seen in the original.

I'll figure out what size the metal trim is when I find out the diameter of those Mercruiser gages. I have a hunch, however, that it could be the same trim Glastron used in many of their boats at that time, including mine; 5/16 inch polished, rounded aluminum. (shown in the below pix of the glove compartment.)

A pattern for the new ply was made with "dollar store" package wrapping paper.

I've got a lot of mileage out of that roll over the past two years!

The paper was scored with open scissors along the top.

The glove compartment doesn't have a top to trace on...

... so a rough cut was made, paper taken off the dash, folded in half and the compartment area was cut the shape of the driver's side.

Pattern was clamped back on and after few adjustments the steering hole was marked.

Many of the angles of this '69 V-145 boat are 75 degrees. The dash is no exception so the ply will be cut at 75 degree angles.

This used to be quite a nice looking sport boat at one time. Hard to see it now but the dash had a modern style to it.

... the rest of the dash surface was covered with wood grain vinyl, as seen from under the dash.

Padded "Glacier Blue" Naugahyde vinyl was under the windshield, the steering column was chromed and the steering wheel was black with a chrome hub. The Glastron logo in the center of the hub with a wood grain background.

The hull and topside was originally white with "Glacier Blue" details.

The longest ply I have left is 4 foot. The new dash needs to be 4 foot 2 inches as the Batboat gets wider a foot back. A solution has been figured out.

Top and bottom are cut at a 75 degree angle...

... and with a few adjustments, its uniform to the original.

The dash, windshield area and laser eyes are all connected. The cold is averaging 45 degrees now but I'll work on it when able.

Its of the Batboat before I owned it on display at the Motor City Comic Convention, held at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, MI, May 19-21, 2006. The miniature Man-O-War was built for this convention celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Batman TV show.

I understand the autograph tables of Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Yvonne Craig, and Lee Meriweather were facing the Batboat the entire weekend but I have yet to find any photos showing it.

It will be cool to put together a scrapbook. Most images that have been given to me and found were shot at this convention.

I'd like to have some other shots taken at other meets and conventions where this appeared from 2006 to 2007, like the one at the bottom of this blog.

Have you any photos of my Batboat on display? Or with cast members? There are two shots of Yvonne Craig autographing the fin.

I'd sure like to have some more. :) Contact me through this blog or dnemeth01@charter.net.

Today I took a few moments to fill in the odd low spots under the bow along where the deck meets the hull.

These will be a mold and dirt traps, especially after the foot board is put back in. When filled in flat it will also be easier to wash out the bow and keep it dry.

Using a great deal of PL Construction Adhesive.

PL caulk spread smooth using fingers.

Next spring I will grind the surface of the PL smooth and fiberglass over it. The weather is cooling off too much to risk buying more resin and I haven't the money to buy one more gallon due to the move to Saginaw.

The last new cartridge of PL Adhesive of the year was opened. Seven 28 oz cartridges used on the Batboat so far! There is still some left over for next year, believe it or not.

There were a few spots on the deck with exposed bare plywood from my grinding bubbles down too far into the chopped strand mat fiberglass a week ago. I waterproofed them by glopping a bit of adhesive on top. Will pop them off and fiberglass over those next year.

Winter may be here but there is more to come to the 1966 Batboat Blog! Stay tuned!

A couple hours was spent today grinding down the bubbles in the 6 oz woven hexal fiberglass.

There were too many but there were no bubbles in the 1.5 chopped strand mat, however, so not many areas need to be patched.

I did this wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. For weeks I had a rash on my upper arms from contact with the tacky fiberglass surface. Wear long sleeves, folks! lol!

Weeks ago, when the plywood was measured and cut for the deck it was a snug fit, however, after fiberglassing the underside and grinding off the excess I dug into the wood a little. Not a good fit any more. After installed, most places where the deck sections met the hull had a half inch or more gap.

Rolling fiberglass over the deck to meet the hull creates a slouch in the cloth were these gaps are. Today I filled these dips in with PL Construction Adhesive and intend to glass over it next summer with 1.5 CSM, otherwise, they will be dirt and mold traps.